If there is no shame in eating processed American cheese, then there is no shame in consuming chile con queso. After all, it's not easy making a bowl of molten gold studded with chiles - Tex-Mex manna - without that cheese that offers a silken liquid texture when melted. Let's call it what it is: Velveeta.

But this isn't a story about the culinary virtues of Velveeta; rather, what the spongy brick of cheese excels at: chile con queso. The marriage of chile and cheese in the form of a hot dip may have roots in Chihuahua, Mexico. It most likely was made with white Mexican cheese and roasted poblano peppers. But it is the yellow/orange version, ubiquitous in Tex-Mex restaurants, that is familiar to generations of Texans. A fonduelike dip served with tortilla chips, it is the traditional starter for most Tex-Mex restaurant dinners.

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Sure, "queso" (the shorthand term for chile con queso), can be made with good cheeses, but most Texans recognize a simple merger of Velveeta and RoTel diced tomatoes with green chile as classic queso - a distinctly Texas dip recognized by all.

And though this standard queso may be far removed from its Mexican origins, it remains as much a part of the Tex-Mex dining experience as chips and salsa, a frosty margarita and a combo plate or a sizzling fajitas platter.

"Chile con queso is very much Tex-Mex. What I believe, and I have no proof, is it started in Tex-Mex restaurants," said Sylvia Casares, the Brownsville native who has become a successful Houston restaurateur with her Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen restaurants. "We learned to enjoy it in Tex-Mex restaurants. It's not something my mother made at home."

Still, Casares said she wouldn't have dreamed of opening a Mexican restaurant without queso on the menu. "It's amazing how much people eat it. We have people ask for queso on their enchiladas. They put it on their tacos," she said. "If you want to be a rock star, offer to bring the queso. Everyone will go wild."

And though queso knows no season in Texas, it's definitely a mainstay of tailgating and game-day parties. As football season revs up, queso will be consumed by the tons.

As it should be, Padilla said. "It goes great with beer. Beers, chips and queso? That's a really good combo."

And so easy to make, said Laurenzo, the grandson of the late Mama Ninfa Laurenzo. "It's totally something anyone can do at home," he said. "The queso we serve was my grandmother's recipe. It's one of the simplest recipes we have. What's always been the key to chile con queso is Velveeta. There are other types of melting cheeses, but Velveeta is the best."

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